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Dear RESULTS friends,
Congratulations! Your hard work has paid off this afternoon.
Just a few minute ago, the House passed two important bills that will help people living in poverty in the U.S. First, they passed the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 (S.3307) by a vote of 264-157. This bill will invest $4.5 billion in new money over the next ten years to improve access, administration, and resources for child nutrition programs. This is a good step forward in helping hungry kids get the healthy snacks and meals they need for their development. The bill will now go to the President for signature. However, there is still work to be done. Unfortunately, the bill cuts future SNAP benefits to pay for part of the bill, something RESULTS strongly opposes. The President and Democratic leaders have pledged to remedy this and we must hold their feet to the fire. Send an e-mail to both Congress and the President urging them to make sure these important SNAP benefits are restored before Congress adjourns in December.
Immediately following the child nutrition vote, the House passed the Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 2010 by a vote of 234-188. This bill extended the Bush tax cuts for all taxpayers on their first $200,000 of income ($250,000 for married couples). Because of your hard work, the bill includes a permanent extension of the $3,000 income eligibility threshold for the Child Tax Credit and the expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit for married couples enacted in 2009 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. As you well know, these expansions have helped millions of low-income working Americans make ends meet.
Unfortunately, the tax fight is not over. The bill now goes to the Senate, where it faces fierce opposition by several leaders, expressly Republican leaders who have publicly announced as a party that they want all the Bush tax cuts for incomes over $200,000 extended. The Senate may take up the bill as early as next week. You’ll hear more from us about that in the coming days but in the meantime, please send an e-mail to Congress thanking House members for their vote and urging the Senate to follow suit.
Thank you for all your hard work. This is another meaningful step toward ending poverty in the United States.
Jos G. Linn
Domestic Outreach Organizer
Faith in Action Project Coordinator
RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund
(515) 288-3622 (Iowa)
jlinn@results.org
www.results.org
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